Manuscript Collection

Pemiscot County Collection Descriptions

Pemiscot County, named for Pemiscot Bayou, was organized in 1851. The county seat is Caruthersville. The collections listed below deal in some manner with Pemiscot County. This list is not comprehensive, so be sure to browse collection descriptions by subject.

C

Carey, Scott (1884-1963), Papers, 1917-1961, (C2336)
18 folders
The papers of Scott Carey contain correspondence, reports of arrests, affidavits, and photographs pertinent to Carey's work as a private detective and Frisco Lines agent in Scott and Pemiscot Counties. A private detective for more than fifty years, Carey was also a special officer for the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad in the Missouri Bootheel region.

Civil War Scrapbook, Missouri, 1823-1868, (C1379)
1 folder
The papers contain a collection of newspaper clippings on Missouri, 1823-1868, from New York and Boston newspapers, primarily the New York Daily Tribune. Most of the items pertain to the Civil War in Missouri, 1861-1862, and include maps and diagrams of the war in the west.

Franklin, John Eddy, Papers, 1946-1954, (C0319)
1 folder
Recollections of life in southeast Missouri and Franklin's part in bank, land, and railroad development during the 1880s and 1890s. Poem and article by Alice Franklin Bryant; The Land of Corn, about Franklin's southeast Missouri plantation, by J.E. Wood; 2 letters; and newspaper clippings.

G

Gideon-Anderson Lumber & Mercantile Co., Papers, 1901-1938, (R0290)MICROFILM
37 folders
This collection consists of correspondence and business papers of the Gideon-Anderson Lumber & Mercantile Company concerning the lumber trade in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas. Based in Gideon, Missouri, the company operated primarily in Dunklin, New Madrid, and Pemiscot counties in Missouri. The collection includes papers from two subsidiary operations, the Gideon Cooperage Company and the Gideon & North Island Railroad Company.

Gideon-Anderson Lumber & Mercantile Company, Papers, 1901-1985, (R0449)MICROFILM
21 folders
This is an addition to the business records of the Gideon-Anderson Lumber & Mercantile Company (see also R0290), which operated at Gideon in New Madrid County, Missouri. Most of the papers concern operations in 1901-1919, but there are also papers of a subsidiary operation, the Gideon and North Island Railroad Company, 1903-1932, and historical materials on the firm to 1985.

L

Lee, Richard L., Courthouse Photographs, (P0003)DIGITIZED MATERIALS
210 photographs
The collection includes photographs of county courthouses for the state of Missouri, taken in the mid-twentieth century by Richard L. Lee.

Little River Valley Land Company, Booklet, ca. 1908, (R0946)
1 folder, photocopies
This is a promotional booklet for the Little River Valley Land Company, which marketed land made available by the drainage of the swamps in southeastern Missouri. A. L. Harty served as president and W. F. Smith served as secretary of the firm, which was based at Cape Girardeau in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.

Missouri Rural Area Development Committee, Records, 1957-1967, (C2583)
1.8 linear feet
The records of the Missouri Rural Area Development Committee are organized into four sections: organization, policy, projects, and progress reports. The Missouri Rural Area Development Committee, directed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was designed to coordinate efforts to revitalize agricultural and natural resources in the rural areas.

Moark Land & Timber Co., Records, 1898-1903, (R0068)
4 volumes
These are financial records of a timber exploitation and lumber business in the Bootheel section of Missouri. Franklin Johnson Cunningham managed the firm and its headquarters were at Caruthersville in Pemiscot County, Missouri.

Presbytery of Missouri Records, 1817-1920, (C1354)MICROFILM
1.4 linear feet, 6 oversize volumes
The records of the Presbytery of Missouri contain minutes, reports, and other records of an organization composed of ministers and representative elders of Presbyterian churches in Missouri. Volumes 1-6 have been microfilmed. Volume 7 is available onsite. See also collection C1353.

R

Ramsay, Robert L. (1880-1953), Papers, 1918-1953, (C3230)
2.5 linear feet
The Robert Ramsay Papers includes correspondence, 1918-1953; notes, rough drafts, revisions, and proof sheets for the Place Name series, with emphasis upon the Missouri Place Names; newspaper clippings about Ramsay and newspaper clippings of the Place Name articles. Small volumes of notes and a variety of prints pertaining to his academic classes are included as well as sample themes and bibliographies submitted by his students.

S

Saint Francis Levee District, Records, 1893-1980, (R0076)MICROFILM
8 volumes, 1 folder
These are ledgers, minute books, and financial records of the Saint Francis Levee District. The District was organized in 1893, and reorganized in 1913. It includes parts of Dunklin, New Madrid, and Pemiscot counties in Missouri.

Southeast Missouri Drummers' Association, Souvenir Program, 1910, (R0680)
1 folder, photocopies
This is the souvenir program of the fourteenth annual meeting of the Southeast Missouri Drummers' Association, held at Sikeston, Scott County, Missouri, 26-28 May 1910. The program features a schedule of events, descriptions of prominent Scott County businesses, photographs of officers and members of the association, and views of businesses, residences, and public buildings in Sikeston.

St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company, Records, 1859-1980, (R0362)
635 items in 56 cartons
These are corporate minutes and financial account books, and other records of the St. Louis-San Francisco ("Frisco") Railway Company (1916-1980) and predecessor, subsidiary, and constituent companies, most notably the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway (1876-1896) and the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad (1896-1916). The "Frisco" operated in Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. It became part of the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1980.

State of Missouri Photograph Collection, (P0018)
462 photographs
Over 400 original photos created for the 1904 publication on Missouri at the time of the World's Fair by Walter Williams; shows all aspects and counties in Missouri.

Stewart, Goah W., Letters, 1864, (R0699)
1 folder, typescripts
These are transcripts of two letters by Capt. Goah W. Stewart of Company K, 1st Missouri Infantry (CSA), to his sister in Pemiscot County, Missouri. The letters briefly note his escape from Gratiot Prison in St. Louis, and the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, in which he was wounded.

T

The Missouri Collection, (C3982)
The Missouri Collection is an artificial collection combining miscellaneous small acquisitions related to Missouri places, individuals, organizations, and events.

U.S. Work Projects Administration, Historical Records Survey, Missouri, 1935-1942, (C3551)MICROFILM
302 linear feet; also available on 817 rolls of microfilm
Correspondence, records, and working files. Originally designed to survey and inventory all county government records, the survey finally included inventories of church records, manuscript collections, vital statistics, American imprints, and federal archives. Incorporates records of the Federal Writers Project for Missouri.

W

World War I Collection, 1917-1921, (C3223)
1.4 cubic feet
Clippings largely from Kansas City and St. Louis, MO, newspapers regarding World War I soldiers from Missouri; the 35th, 89th, and Rainbow Divisions; and the Red Cross and hospital work. Also includes political cartoons, war statistics, and county casualty lists.